Piss off, YGBKM. The state hardly confiscates an onerous amount of your wealth. American taxes are quite reasonable overall, and seeing as how the stability of that state makes that high wage possible in the first place, you've got very, very little to complain about. There is an extreme positive correlation between "welfare capitalism" and wealth. You should count your lucky stars that you don't live in Nigeria and have to step over dead bodies on your way to your oil pit job.

I'm only the 53rd millionth richest, but that's cause you don't count my house (mostly paid off) or my stock holdings or my retirement savings (which are apparently median for people who are 60, and I've got a long way to go till then).

Still, consider Canada. Trust me. I grew up with the rich kids and went to Capilano College and so on with them - we used to have fun baiting Liberal party whips ...

YGTBKM has some arguments, and he's going to use them, whether they have anything to do with the subject at hand or not, and whether or not any of the positions he's arguing against have actually been made.

Let me try: I don't care what you say, YGTBKM, slavery is still wrong!

I hate when hippies insult my intelligence with bullshit like this without taking into account currency strength and market conditions.

An African's 12 shillings a year, along with the bartering power of any easily produced goods and services, might have a hell of a lot more value in his village than my $24K a year has in the United States', especially in a city full of rich assholes like Seattle.